


Shard Hunter

by SorchaCahill



Series: The Adventures of Young Trevelyan [6]
Category: Dragon Age, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Rated M for Swearing, and the stupid rock pillar it's on, lots and lots of swearing, pre-relationship Inquisitor/Cullen, that one shard in the Hinterlands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 14:06:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13614924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SorchaCahill/pseuds/SorchaCahill
Summary: Some problems can be solved with guile, some with cunning, and some times you just need to hit the problem with a really big hammer.Alternately: in where Bríghid Trevelyan is too stubborn just to leave that one fucking shard in the Hinterlands alone and get on with her life.





	Shard Hunter

Bríghid scowled at the giant rock pillar that towered above them. The dragon had destroyed half of it during their fight, enough to reveal one of the creepy shards they had found across Ferelden and Orlais but not enough for them to easily retrieve it. There were several doors in the temple in the Forbidden Oasis and Solas promised that whatever lay behind was of great import and had urged her to collect as many shards as possible.

This one however. This one she was about ready to give up on.

They were already exhausted from fighting the Ferelden Frostback and the stupid shard was stuck on a stupid high ledge and they didn’t have any stupid rope to climb the stupid big rock. If she ever found the idiot who hide these shards they were going to have words. Words that came with pointy things.

“This is stupid.”

“Hey, you were the one who looked through the creepy skull and found these things, this is all on you Bríghid.”

“Shut up, Varric.” Bríghid glared up at the shard again. She could just barely see the edge of it. She sure has hell could hear the damned thing. It resonated and made a sound that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Her gloves were damn near ruined from her numerous attempts to climb the stupid pillar and they hadn’t been in the best condition after fighting that fucking dragon. It was a good thing then that they had plenty of dragonhide; she was sure that between Harritt and Dagna they could come up with a suitable replacement. Not before she got the stupid shard though.

“This is stupid. I’ve scaled mountains taller than this fucking pile of rocks.”

“A bit tetchy there, aren’t we boss? How can you be in a bad mood after fighting that glorious beast? That was magnificent.”

“You can pleasure yourself later in remembrance of your victory over the winged-lizard later, Bull.” She cocked her head to the side, contemplating the rock wall in front of her. “Do we have anything the will blow it up? Bull, you don’t happen to have any of that Qunari blasting powder on you, do you?”

Iron Bull, who’d been in the process of draining his waterskin, nearly choked at her words. “Ah, sorry boss, but no. That stuff’s pretty regulated. They don’t just hand it out like candy.”

“Besides, my dear, wouldn’t blowing it up defeat the purpose. I must say that it’s time to let this one go,” said Vivienne as she flicked a bit of dragon guts off her sleeve.

“No. I didn’t let that asshole Corypheus beat me and we just killed a high dragon, I’m not about to let this stupid rock beat me.”

“And people said that Hawke was stubborn,” Varric muttered.

“Perhaps if you and Cullen just-.”

Bríghid spun around, pointing a finger at Iron Bull. “You do  _ not _ want to finish that sentence, you don’t even want to finish that thought. My love life, or lack of it, is none of your damn business.”

Iron Bull held his hands up in surrender but she didn’t miss the side glance he gave Varric or the dwarf’s shrug. Whatever was happening, or  _ not _ happening, between her and Cullen was private. Yes, she was still wary because of what Gróa had told her all those years ago but she couldn’t deny the attraction she felt for him. And the kiss they had shared on the battlements had definitely left her wanting more. 

Disgusted with herself Bríghid turned back to the rock pillar. One would think that with all those broken hexagonal columns that it would be an easy climb but they were spaced just far enough away from each other to make it nearly impossible. It was too bad she couldn’t use the mark to open a rift in the rock but not only was she not exactly sure how to do that when there wasn’t already a tear, she wasn’t sure that they were quite up to fighting a horde of demons at the moment. 

“This is stupid and makes no sense. Why is there some random rock pillar in the fucking middle of a wide open area? There’s no evidence of excavation here and rock just doesn’t grow straight up out of the ground for no reason.”

“We’ve got templars growing red lyrium through their skin, an ancient Tevinter magister bent on destroying the world, and you travelled through time but you’re taking issue with the placement of a rock?”

“Shut up, Varric. And it’s not a rock, it’s a small mountain,” she said, pausing as she eyed the rock pillar again. “Bull, hand me your maul. I want to try something.”

“Uh, boss, I don’t think-.”

“Just give it to me.” Iron Bull reluctantly handed it over, glancing at a bewildered Varric and Vivienne. Bríghid ignored them all as she gripped the heavy maul in both hands. She eyed it, wishing she could just destroy it with a thought but brute force would work just as well, and she’d be able to let out some of the frustration on an inanimate object rather than a living being that probably wouldn’t deserve it. Her arms throbbed as she swung the maul and it made contact with the rock. Bits flew off, crumbling under the weight and force of the maul, and she swung the maul again, watching with satisfaction as a crack slithered up the rock face.

“Uh, Boss, as fun as beating it to death might be I’m not sure this is the best way to go about this.”

“Don’t spoil my fun, Bull. This stupid piece of shit deserves it,” Bríghid said, her chest heaving as she swung the maul again. The crack grew longer, spidering outward as larger chunks of rock fell off. 

“Well, that’s one way to let off some steam,” said Varric. “Though I would have thought that stabbing a dragon to death would have done that.”

“A rather barbaric one. My dear, I think you’ve made your point, whatever it was, but I’m not entirely sure what you hoped to accomplish as it still stands.”

Bríghid flashed them a feral grin as she dropped the maul, the weapon thudding against the muddy dirt that surrounded the pillar. Vivienne sighed in resignation as some of the muddy water splashed onto her armor. What was a little mud after being drenched in dragon guts after all? 

“I’ll show you,” Bríghid said before backing up several paces. She eyed the rock pillar, now with more cracks and notches, before running straight at it, leaping up at the last second and grabbing onto one of the cracks. Her fingers stung as the rough rock scraped against her skin but she wasn’t about to let that stop her. She would defeat this fucking thing if it was the last thing she did. 

She was halfway up, the ringing from the shard louder now, when one of the handholds crumbled under her weight and she was left dangling by the fingertips of her left hand. Her world spun a little as she looked down and saw her companions. 

“Maker’s breath, whatever you do, don’t fall. You die and Cassandra  _ will _ kill me this time. Not even the Maker could stop her,” Varric called up.

“Thanks for your ever so helpful advice Varric,” she growled as she turned her head up, searching for another handhold. She spied one about a half a foot above her and slightly to the left. The next closest was at least five feet away, a jump she’d never make unless she learned how to fly. Of course if she could fly she wouldn’t be clinging to a rock face twenty feet above the ground.

Groaning, she wedged the toe of her boot into one of the cracks as much as she could which allowed her to get a better grip on the handhold with her left hand. Taking a deep breath, she pushed off with her foot and leapt to the next handhold, just barely able to dig her fingers in.

“Know of any fast boats to Par Vallen, Tiny? She falls both Cassandra and Cullen will have our heads.”

“We should be more worried about your Spymaster. She’s the scary one.”

“Oh, for Andraste’s sake, stop your fussing you two. The Inquisitor will be fine.”

“And just how do you know that, Iron Lady?”

“Because that alternative isn’t allowed.”

“Well, if you put it  _ that _ way I guess it’s all good.”

Bríghid blocked their bickering and focused on her breathing and not the wind blowing around her. She was only about thirty feet up but it was enough to where she’d be seriously injured if she fell. This was nothing compared to the mountains she’d climbed in the Frostbacks but back then she didn’t have the fate of the world on her shoulders. A fact that still hadn’t stopped her from beating the pillar with a maul to make scaling it easier.

Digging her fingers into the last ledge, she pulled herself up and found herself eye to eye with the crystal shard. In addition to the discordant humming she could feel her skin tingle from whatever magic it was that had created the shards. If she was feeling it, she couldn’t imagine what it felt like to a mage. 

The muscles in her arms trembled as she heaved her body up onto the narrow ledge and lay on her back, staring into the Ferelden sky. It was actually quite peaceful if one ignored the distant cries of the dragonlings that roamed the ravine. This far away from Haven you could barely see the Breach but it was still there, looming over Thedas. The mark chose that moment to flare, causing her hand to twitch. Bríghid raised her head, tensing as she surveyed the area for another rift but when she saw none she let her head drop back and sighed heavily, closing her eyes and tried to imagine what her life had been like before the sky exploded and demons rained down upon them. 

“Hey, Boss, you okay up there? Or are you taking a nap?”

“Fuck you, Bull,” she called down, extending her middle finger at him for added emphasis. Bull roared with laughter. A smile curved her lips as she imagined Vivienne sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose, probably rethinking her decision to join the Inquisition. “I’ll be down in a moment so shut your pie hole.”

“Why is it that we must suffer her vulgarity when in the field? She doesn’t act like this back in Skyhold.”

“Which just proves that you don’t come to the tavern on Wicked Grace nights. Bad language and rude hand gestures all around.” Varric sighed wistfully. “It reminds me of The Hanged Man. There are less bar fights sure, but people still don’t know better than to bet against an Antivan when playing cards.”

Bríghid flushed at the memory. She had picked up rather quickly that Josephine was playing a long game on their companions but several of them were either slower on the uptake or over confident in their abilities. She’d bowed out early rather than lose all her coin and she’d sat there in amazement as Cullen continued to play, continued to bet, and continued to lose, lose to the point where he’d lost not only his coin but his clothes. Part of her couldn’t believe that Josephine could be  _ that _ wicked and the other part couldn’t believe that the staid and stern commander she’d come to know didn’t know when to quit. In retrospect it shouldn’t have been that surprising considering how competitive he was when they played chess, it only made sense that competitiveness would bleed over into other areas, but still, never in a million years would she have thought that would be the way she first saw him mostly naked.

Heat flushed her body at the memory, remembering how Cullen’s muscles clenched under his skin as his frustration grew. As the game had progressed she’d spent more and more time staring into her mug than at the table in fear that she wouldn’t be able to look away from the man sitting across from her. It was so ridiculous. It wasn’t like she’d never seen a naked man before but seeing all that skin did something to her and even the memory of it now was making her squirm.

Sitting up, she reached over and picked up the shard. The humming stopped almost as soon as her fingers touched the smooth surface but colors still swirled underneath. She tilted it toward the sun, the light catching on tiny facets and imperfections in the stone. Solas was absolutely certain that whatever lay behind the doors in the temple would be worth all this trouble. For his sake she hoped he was right because if he wasn’t she was seriously going to kick his ass.

At the moment however, she needed to figure out a way to get down that didn’t involve breaking her neck. Despite evidence to the contrary, she  _ did _ have a sense of self-preservation. If they couldn’t tell the difference between reckless behavior and her fucking with them, well, was it really her problem?

Sighing, she tucked the shard into the pouch on her belt and prayed that the rest of the shards wouldn’t prove to be as annoying to retrieve.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I am ridiculous. And frankly, can you blame me?
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at scahill42.tumblr.com. There be nerdy shit there. :)


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